Salaams (Peace),
I don’t usually get a chance to watch tv. So I missed the new Thor trailer. If you’ve been stuck in Muslim Mommydom like I have then you might not even know who Thor is. Thor is the latest of the Marvel comic heroes to come to “life” on the big screen. In the latest Thor trailer, Marvel proclaims that “There are many superheroes, but only one is a god.” The commercial ends with Thor asked the question, “who are you really?”
The answer according to the poster and trailer is that Thor is a god. On one of the movie posters, the word GOD is centered across his face. With the tag line again…”only one is a god.” As a Muslim mom, I have accepted that my beliefs do not reflect the beliefs of the majority of Americans. As such, my children are exposed daily to ideas and values that are vastly different from mine. I do my best to shelter them and teach them values that reflect our Islamic beliefs.
But seriously, isn’t this blasphemy? Shouldn’t we as Muslims, Christians and Jews all agree on this point. This is not entertainment. This is an attempt to personify god. To take what is basically “shirk” or idolatry and make it cool and heroic. There used to be a time in America when to say “goddammit” was a bad word. Because it was considered a terrible blasphemy. People would tell children, “don’t take the Lord’s name in vain.” Christians would say, “we don’t have false or idol gods.” Does anyone remember that?
The truth is in this country we have all become so relaxed. We allow these small blasphemies without raising an eyebrow, much less a protest. Small shirk (idolatry) leads to big shirk. And if we don’t teach our kids to reverence God, how will they learn it.
When my children ask me about God. I teach them that He is not black or white. I teach them that He is not human at all. I teach them that God is not anything they could EVER imagine, because He is not like anything they have ever seen or known. I teach them that we are all His creation and He is our creator. I teach them that to make pictures or images of Him is blasphemy. Blasphemy because He is so superior to us that we could never get it right and any attempt would be insulting. I teach them that God is worthy of all praise and glory and should be reverenced in the most special way. Certainly not in a way that Thor deserves!
Truthfully, I don’t think that my kids will grow up and start worshiping idols because they watched Thor. However, I want my kids to grow up with such a reverence for God, that they look with disdain and disgust at anything that blasphemes God in anyway. It’s my job to teach them this disdain. It’s the most important part of what I teach them.
mommymuslim.wordpress.com 
Did you know that before there was the prophet Muhammad, before Jesus, before Jehovah and Allah were established as deities, that the Greeks and Romans had a rich pantheon of gods and goddesses? In fact, our planets are named after many of the major Roman ones. And alongside them, were the Norse people…who had another rich pantheon…with Odin…Loki…and THOR, among others.
And before them, the Egyptians had theirs. Really, why don’t you take the time to educate yourself about historical cultures before you brand other culture’s beliefs as ‘false’.
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Actually according to my beliefs, before there were Greeks and Romans and Norsemen there was Adam. Who was the first man created by the one God. And that is the God that I believe in today. He actually precedes all of these other traditions that according to my faith is false. But I respect your right to believe what you want. I just have no interest in seeing this movie.
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I’m sure Stephen doesn’t actually believe in the gods of Asgard; he is merely stating that there are/were other religions, some of which pre-date Islam, Christianity and Judaism. Thor is but one of many gods belonging to a religion, now called Norse mythology, that was practised by ancient Vikings. He was a real god to those ancient people until Christianity spread through Europe and changed those peoples minds… in much the same way Islam swept away the ancient Egyptian gods. You say, “He actually precedes all of these other traditions…” Well, it may be the case that the god of Islam precedes all these other faiths, but belief in him doesn’t. There was a period of time when humans existed before Muhammad’s supposed revelation, during which they made up all sorts of things. But the vast majority of these things are not believed any more. There’s a very good chance the person who made this Thor poster is a Christian. I think you’re being way too sensitive about this; it’s just a movie.
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Based on the Norse faith however the Aesir and Vanir come from Asgard a world on a higher plane, how could you say Adam came first if you’re trying to call my faith fiction when to anybody else who is not a Christian believes just the same. The difference that the rest of you Pagans and the people that believe in their “ONE TRUE GOD” is that you believe in only your own and are not open to ideas and growth, you war and argue and fight with each other and stay stuck in your ways. The Norse people invited other ideas into their culture, and grew from it into one of the mightiest civilizations on earth, which their ability to adapt their culture to one that best promotes growth and prosperity has influenced our culture to this day. Every day of the week is named after a Norse/Celt/Germanic God the majority of the english language is derived from the norse and latin languages. The actual celebration festivities that happen during christmas came from Yule Tide a norse festival. If you do not wish your children to be influenced by other religions then I respect that as your choice however, Thor if any god would be a good influence as his values are beyond reproach. If you wish to speak of sin in the christian sense, let me give you a history lesson. The Norse people came to England, France, Russia in search of lands because the mountainous rocky lands of scandinavia at the time were too harsh as farmland and do not have advanced farming techniques of today so they pillaged villages killing only those who resisted them once they built ships that could cross the open seas first of their kind anywhere by the way! They pillaged so they could find riches, ofcourse at the time their target ended up being churches because churches at the time were the tax centers of every town and had a wealth of gold or silver. The Vikings after being in England for a time bargained with the English kings for Land instead of pillaging and ransoming for gold so they could Farm and the English agreed for a time but they turned on the vikings due to their pagan ways….which is not the way of Jesus Christ to harm others. So how dare those who dare speak in the name of Christ do so by spewing Hypocrisy, tarnishing everything you believe in by not knowing your own history or properly representing your God. The Islamic faith is terribly harsh on women as well and I wish I could do something for you, I am sorry your God asks you to do terrible things, and offers little in the way of mortal forgiveness. I weep for you in the only way a mortal man can, there is nothing I can change only you and your people can make that decision. If your God truly loves you then he will understand your need for a better life.
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Teach your children what you want them to know & believe – it’s not only your right, but your responsibility as a parent and I would not seek to gainsay your teaching of Mohammed & Allah.
That said – I also do not believe as you do. In fact, i am one of those poor, beknighted souls who – seeking a faith that spoke to me personally – reached back to the gods of my ancestors, and that includes Thor.
I have my own problems with this movie – like you, I too believe that my Gods are so superior to us that we (and the makers of the movie) could never get them right.
But I believe that they WILL make him heroic, and compared to how it could turn out, that would be a much smaller blasphemy-from-ignorance.
And in any case, I recognize that they are telling a story – and I also realize that my faith is strong enough to weather the telling, for I know that I find my comfort & solace in the truth.
Is it a blasphemy? Yes.
Do I fear it to the point of ‘needing’ to shut it down? No.
So now the question is: Do you?
– Ron
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To answer your question; do I feel the need to shut down the movie? No. I also don’t want to offend you if you feel the title blasphemes your religion. I just want to encourage those who follow the monotheist faiths not to support this movie with their money.
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Excellent – you never quite got around to that point in the post.
Good on you.
(I’m also not offended – from my point of view, you cannot harm my faith, offer me no physical threat and otherwise just don’t know any better and I’m not about to hold that against you – I was just making a point)
– Ron
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Oh, and BTW?
I actually find the title of your post to be a greater blasphemy than their imperfect attempt at a portrayal of Thor.
I don’t feel the need to shut you down over yours, either.
– Ron
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Well put Ron, that’s how I ended up here.
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Before even Adam there was the one true God (ALLAH). The one true God the God of the Christians, Muslims, Jews, Sabiens and all those who believe in the one God the creator of all that is in the heavens and on earth.
I am sorry to announce, but Thor along with Zeus and the rest are not God, it is impossible for them to be God because they would have to fight for power, besides the fact their power is limited according to the beliefs of those who believe in them..
Also I choose not to look at the trailer simply because I do not want to promote this movie more than it has already been promoted. And I do agree this is blasphemy.
My intention is not to offend anyone, but to provoke and inspire thought and understanding in “myth”ological Gods
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Ohhhh, MY intention is not to offend but provoke, but YOUR beliefs are myths. Great one. You just show your ignorance and agenda.
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It depends on how you define god. If you see the only possible god as the only true God — Allah, Jehovah, whatever you want to call Him, the Creator of our universe — then you’re right; Thor is not God.
On the other hand, ancient cultures often didn’t think of their gods as all-powerful, or creators of life. Gods like Thor, Loki, and most of the Greek gods were simply being higher (often literally) and more powerful than us mortal humans (traits that hold true in this new movie). In that sense, Thor is a god.
He’s just a god that doesn’t exist. Thor is a god in the sense that the book I haven’t gotten around to writing is still a book. If I think about it, I think of a book. If I make a movie about it, I make a movie about a book. It’s just that the book doesn’t exist in real life. Similarly, if we talk about Thor, we talk of a god that doesn’t exist. If we make a movie about Thor, we make a movie about a god — a god who doesn’t exist in real life.
I also think that most Americans, including those making the movie, acknowledge that Thor doesn’t really exist, and I don’t think that they are deliberately supporting belief in the Norse gods. I personally am a Christian, a believer in the one true God — and an avid Thor fan, of both the Marvel and the mythological variety (in that order, I’ll admit.) I don’t see any contradiction there, for the simple reason that Thor is fictional.
That said, I haven’t really countered your main point, just your title. Having gods in popular culture could and probably would, at least to some extent, create a lack of reverence for the true God, and that would be a problem. But the creators of the Thor movie seem (and I can only judge from previews) to be treating Thor as an advanced alien rather than as a god. His hammer is radioactive, the rainbow bridge is an inter-dimensional portal, and He says himself: “Your ancestors call it magic. You call it science.”
I don’t think that Muslims, Christians, or anyone else, has anything to fear from this movie.
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I just view the film as a work of fiction.Several days of the week are named after these Norse deities: Tyr’s Day, Wotan’s Day,
Thor’s Day, and Freya’s day.
In the Thor comic book, there was a villain called the Crusader who tried to kill Thor because he was angry that some people were worshipping Thor instead of Christ. Thor himself asked not to be worshipped, that that had passed with the ancient Norse period.
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Saffiyah: while I respect your beliefs, you should also realize that there are others who sincerely disagree. Most Christians (with the exception of certain sects such as the Jehovah’s Witnesses, for example), believe that the resurrected man Jesus (Yeshua ben Yosef) is indeed God, and that He is more than a regular prophet.
That said, however, it’s up for God to judge such matters. I’m personally a Christian, but I would never look down upon, or oppress, say, polytheists such as Hindus, Japanese Shintoists, animists, or neo-pagans (who worship Greco-Roman or Norse-Viking deities, for example). Nor would I mistreat Jews, Muslims, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Jehovah’s Witnesses or Mormons, just because I disagree with them on certain things.
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Hey guys,
Why are the responses like “Nor would I shut it down”, or “Nor would I mistreat Jews, Muslims, Sikhs…”
When did the original poster ever insinuate these things? She just feels monotheists should not spend their money on the movie. Chill out and don’t make it a bigger deal than it is.
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Mikhail: Fair enough. I realize that she didn’t insinuate such things; I’m just pointing out though, that there are some religious people (of whatever faith) who would look down upon and mistreat others simply because of differences of theological opinion.
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Are you dump? Thor is the god of Thunder. AND HE IS REAL!
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Of course, HE is and I do not want anybody to insult my gods, either.
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What do you say to other movies like “Bruce Almighty”? Shouldn´t that be blasphemic?
You´d better teach yourself DISGain to your inner circle of Fundamentalism and respecting gods. As I respect your god as YOUR god, you should respect mine as MINE.
In fact, if you argue with “Thor is not existing” than for me: “Your allmighty Allah is NOT existing for me and that includes nonbelieve in Muhammeds visions and no worth of Koran and Shariah…
It is my assignment to teach my kids in finding their own belief and making sure my kids have a freedom of choice. I will not calling after them “what I think is good for you”. And I will teach them to help ignorant people to extend their knowlewdge.
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I don’t have a problem with people not wanting to see “Thor” for religious reasons or otherwise, but where do we draw the line? Should some students be allowed to opt out of taking English classes because there are usually segments in which Greco-Roman mythology is taught?
Like it or not, Greco-Roman mythology (as well as the King James Bible, and Norse-Viking myth to a lesser extent) is part of the English language and literature.
I read about a case in Winnipeg, Canada in which a group of Muslim immigrants didn’t want their kids to take mandatory music and art classes, due to their interpretation of the Quran and the Hadiths. Should they be allowed to do that? Don’t immigrants have a certain responsibilty to assimilate when they move to a new country and culture?
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Hmm. I think that you are – perhaps unintentionally – trying to put your personal faith and views on everyone else.
Obviously today’s “big three” among the religions are Christianity, Muslim, and Jewish.
But still quite a few people worship other religions;
Buddhism, Hinduism, Taoism etc. and many more.
The Heathen/Pagan/Asatru/Odinism is a very old religion from the people of the north of Europe, and Thor is one of their gods.
I completely agree that the film “Thor” is some ridiculous sort of comic film which is not even accurate to the god Thor at all.
But certainly it’s not blasphemy to anyone else’s religion as there is no connection between the bi three and Thor.
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There are actually many different gods. Allah is the moon good “al Ilah” that is much much older than the Koran. He married the sun goddess and had children with her. But when Islam rose people decided to solely praise the god of the moon “Allah” in Arabia as he suddenly wanted to be the only one they adored. This is his message in the Koran. And it worked. The fellow gods of his pantheon, his own family even, were forgotten. But that does not mean they do not exist.
In the North there were many other gods when Mohammed was alive…in America, too…in Japan…everywhere in the world. Thor is just one of the major Norse gods. But he never prohibited humans to pray to other gods. He rather lives in a family, he has a father, sons, and a wife. An all of them are gods.
Everybody is free to decide whether to pray to a lonesome moon good or a family god.
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why would i want to believe in the myths of semetic peoples when my ancestors have a rich history of their own. Hail THOR!
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Thomas: if you’re a white Scandinavian guy, then Christianity is probably part of your heritage as well though, isn’t it?
I recall the 1980’s film “Adventures in Babystting.” There’s a small girl who loves Thor, and dresses like the comic-book version of that Norse deity. Her brother teases her though, and says, “Thor is a homo!” She retorts, “No, he’s not!” tries to strike him with “Mjolnir” (Thor’s hammer).
Later, they mean a blond mechanic (Vincent d’Onofrio, who also played Gomer Pyle in “Full Metal Jacket”, and the farmer in the first “Men In Black” who gts killed and possessed by the alien creatures), and shje mistakes him for Thor. Amusing film!
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Well said Thomas!
Hail THOR!
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Leve Tor Odens son och Åskans gud!
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well chaotickimchijim im not sure where you were going with the whole adventures in babysitting thing, but i often find people who don’t understand a subject very well tend to get off subject. I am in fact a “White scandinavian guy” and indeed christianity is a part of my heritage. It was a little over a thousand yrs ago when christian “powers” ( i.e. the pope, certian kings and the like ) decided that if you were not a christian then you had to die.., and proceeded to rape, murder, and destroy pagan shrines all over northern europe. ,and ” converted” my ancestors. A very similar mindset to Radical Islamists of today.
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The Challenge of Thor : by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. I am the God Thor! I am the war God! I am the Thunderer! Here in my Northland, my fastness, and fortress. Reign i forever! Here amid iceburgs rule i the nations! This is my Hammer! Moilner the mighty! Demons and sorcerers cannot withstand it! These are the gauntlets, wherewith i wield it, and hurl it far off. This is my girdle, whenever i brace it, strength is redoubled! The light thou beholdest, stream through the heavens. In flashes of crimson, is but my beard blown by the night wind, Affrighting the nations!!! Jove is my brother, Mine eyes are the lightning. The wheels of my chariot roll in the thunder. The blows of my Hammer ring in the Earthquake! Force rules the world still. Has ruled it, shall ruled it. Meakness is weakness. Strength is triumphant, over the whole earth. Still is it THOR’S day! Thou are a god too, o galilean. And thus single handed unto combat! Gauntlet or gospel,……Here i Defy thee!!!!
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Hail Thunor, God of my people. There are many thousands of us yet who still stand with thee. Bless us with your mighty power, and protect us from evil men, and evil spirits! heal the earth mighty Redbeard, for monothestic men have damaged her for centuries. They have forgotten that she is the mother of us all! Destroy our enemies, and keep us under your mighty protection. Hail to thee destroyer of demons!………so mote it be, Holy Redbeard!
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Thomas: I realize that Christians were aggessive towards the polytheist pagans in both Southern and Northern Europe, just as Muslims were aggressive towards the Hindus in India during the Mughal invasions and conquests.
However, Jesus never mandated forcing religion on anyone. He said that if his followers went to a town to talk about him, and the townspeople were rude or dismissive, then the disciples should simply “shake the dust off their sandals” as they left the town.
Likewise, the Quran says, “There shall be no compulsion in religion” and “Unto me my religion, and unto you, yours”, yet some Muslims believe that Islam (not just Islam, but radical fundamentalist Islam) should be forced upon everyone, and that those who disagree are kuffars (infidels) who should be killed or at best treated as “dhimmis” (second-class citizens).
Personally, I believe in secularism and freedom of religion. If there is a God, then what humans think about He/She/It is beside the point; it seems clear to me that we will be judged primarily by how we treat others. If someone wants to be an atheist or agnostic that’s fine to…hell, if someone wants to worship Gene Simmons and the other members of KISS (and many metalheads in fact do), then I’m not going to slag them for it, though I may disagree with “KISStianity”
I was/am a fan of the Thor comic book, and I was glad when Thor kicked the ass of the Crusader.
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allah is also a fictional character 🙂 he does not exist:) Oden should smite you all or maybe Tor should smash all you heretics with his hammer!
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Monotheism is the single greatest evil to ever see the light of day. I could write a 100 page paper on the murders-forced conversions-rapes-destroyed temples-ignorance-closed mindedness-pollution of our Earth-Ect.Ect.Ect!……anyone who is a jew,muslim,christian all have these things as a legacy. I laugh in the face of your god. He is an evil thing indeed!!!
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Hmmh…
I am actually a fan of the Nordic Myths.
Wouldn’t directly describe myself as being an asatruar/odinist but I’m certainly positively fascinated by the myths of our great ancestors.
But what you are saying there is not justified at all – rapes, destruction and wars actually pretty much what our ancestors did a good part of their time – just read the Edda.
If it comes to pollution I think there is no evidence that the world would look different today had the religion of our folks succeeded as the ruling religion…
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Last time i read the eddas i don’t remember any forced conversions. Do you? Also i assume you are talking about the vikings when you made your point. I would argue that there is a Huge difference between the viking raids and ” become a christian or you die, and on top of that we are going to destroy all of your holy places ect ect”. And i would argue that the bible passages having to do with the earth is under mans dominion and subugation ect has gone a looooong way in the way monotheistic man has treated our planet. Last time i checked pagan men from all over the planet treated the Earth and her creatures with respect and honor. Something monotheist are sorely lacking!
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Thanks for your reply.
Yep I think I get your point.
Certainly no forced conversions that’s true. But remember that Asatru/Odinism is mainly a folkish religion so forced conversions would be pointless. The religion and tradition was/is passed by your people, our children.
What I actually intended to point out is that there is nothing such a thing as a religion/culture “of peace”.
Any religion our culture will encounter enemies and will either defend itself or vanish.
Certainly I am not defending Islam – I think our people have every right to be proud of and defend our own religion/culture and traditions.
Many problems of our times relate to the fact that Islam came to our countries where it behaves in a hostile manner to our people.
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I enjoy the Nordic myths as well. Also, I remember “The Avengers” movie a few months ago, when the Hulk meets Loki:
Loki: I am a god, you dull creature, and I will not be bullied….
(Hulk picks him him and mightily smashes him against the ground a half-dozen times)
Hulk: Puny god!
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Allah was a moon god. Laughable that muslims either don’t know this OR they don’t want to. To hell with allah and monotheism!
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Islam might be the single most threat to peace and understanding mankind has ever faced. Man how the followers of muhammed teachings have fallen. A religion of peace my ass!
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THOR IS NOT A GOD! EVEN THE FILM SAYS THIS. He is an Asgardian who is heir to the throne of Asgard and is from one of the Nine Norse worlds.
Humans merely interpreted his kin and e.g. Olympians as gods or angels when they were shown clearly in lore and scripture as being non perfect, petty and prone to violence.
The person who wrote this probably didn’t even do 5 minutes of research before going on a full blow charade about “blasphemy.”
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The movie Thor isn’t a god. The Thor from the original Norse myths the movie is based on WAS an actually god, worshipped by by real, live people a few thousand years ago… And he’s every bit as false as every other god you’ve ever heard of.
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Didnt read the rest of the commemt did you mr WAS
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Then i guess you did not spend your 5 minutes? Gods of my ancesters, show some respect.Skrælling!
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I like to share information that I have built up with the season to help improve team functionality.
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I will definitely check out and review! GOOD LUCK!!!!
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Please stop assuming that everyone shares your beliefs on blasphemy. To stop the Thor movie by putting a blasphemy sticker on it, is to impose YOUR beliefs on everyone else. Hope you understand that. Thanks.
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You are dumb.
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Thor is my God. Jewish Marvel may blashpheme him but he will rise to strike down Europe’s enemies.
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Actually Thor is one of the gods of Greek mythology. That was before the sons of Abraham murdered the smart people who loved wisdom – philosophy. It was because of philosophy that people studied nature and admitted that there are more than one god and they aren’t perfect and our emotions and thinking comes from them.
According to the Sumerians the gods are aliens.
Jews hide their superiority complex. Christians act like they are only good when the U.S. military is used to run the world via fascist violence and Muslims are just batshit crazy backwards. The worst thing about Islam is if Muslims act normal because they have no intention of fitting into the West and are just waiting till they have enough numbers to take over.
The earlier nature pagan religions didn’t do this stuff. Today people sacrifice their children to these lie religions and secularism is a religion too of materialism. Science and academia is also about telling people how to think and the goal is that these elite snobs can change whatever they want like putting genetically modified organisms in our food toward their goal of transhumanism.
Religion is just another gang. It doesn’t matter how many people do something. It matters if they value critical thinking.
National Unions are another bad idea that is popular.
If you only have city states then they don’t have enough money to fund war where you demonize your neighbors.
I know you and most people won’t agree with my view. No matter how sane it is.
If you know that these rich psychos run the world and the good people are evil because they just take abuse then why can’t you see that everything is a lie that is promoted both by religion and media?
If religion was a threat to power why would it be so protected in the west? Given tax breaks? Because religion serves the Pope who works for the U.N.
The Pope wanted to take Israel and so he paid off Islam to protect the route to the holy land during the crusades but they turned on him and called him an infidel.
Now, all these religions and secularists serve Zionism which isn’t just a Jewish thing. Its where all the psychos work together to run the world as they see fit.
We need the old pagan nature gods because no liar priesthood organization speaks for them.
The U.N. doesn’t care about the environment. They preach carbon taxes so that the third world won’t be able to afford to compete with them by using expensive alternative energy like they did to build their empire in the west.
I believe in a creator but these books about him are written by man to serve a few above the rest.
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Actually The word “god” is a germanic word refering to something worthy of sacrifice or libation and was applied to Þorr first. Þorr is a god and “God” is not. Also, speaking for someone who is not a christian jew or muslim, Þorr makes is a way better person/role model/god than Jesus YHWH or allah. To put that more gently, unless it was capitalized, chill out. Big difference between god and God.
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After having studied the subject for the last few years I´m sure what I believe is true now:
Thor is a god from the germanic Pantheon, along many other gods like Odin, Heimdall, Ullr, Freyr, Freya, Frigg, Iduna, Balder and so on. These gods Asatruar or Odinists believe are the true gods for them. They are as real as other goss such as Jahwe, Allah and so on.
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